FBLG Banking Letter - June Edition 2018

2018 Independent Bank Compensation Survey

30th Anniversary Edition!

FBLG's annual Independent Bank Compensation Survey is now open and available to complete on our website. Many of you are long-time participants and we welcome your participation again this year. When you participate in the 2018 survey, you are automatically entered into a Prize Drawing for a $500 Amazon gift card.

Items to Consider with the New CECL Requirements Coming Into Effect

With the new CECL requirements coming into effect for the majority of our Community Banking clients, (for non-public business entities the standards are effective as of January 2021), we have begun to receive numerous questions related to potential implementation changes. Some items to consider when reviewing these changes may include the following:

SBA Reform Bill Passes Congress

As of June 5, 2018, H.R.4743 won over Congress by a unanimous vote and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. This bill intends to increase the Small Business Administration’s maximum lending authority by 15 percent. This is great news for small business owners as more may be able to receive government-backed loans.

States Explore Strategies to Avoid SALT Deduction Limitation

Even before the final passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, politicians in high-tax states started looking for ways to eliminate, or at least reduce, the impact of the new limitation on the itemized deduction for state and local taxes (SALT). Will they be successful?

The Importance of Annual Reviews

In every aspect of life, individuals, business entities and corporations inspect and monitor their large assets. Whether it is an investment portfolio, real estate properties or large construction projects. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye on your sizable assets in an effort to avoid any deterioration or loss of value. Financial institutions are no different; they accomplish this through annual reviews of their larger lending relationships, which inherently have a more substantial risk associated with them.

Updated IRS Guidelines for Mileage and Auto-related Expenses

In late May 2018, the IRS released Notice 2018-42 and related IR-2018-127. These releases modified previously released Notice 2018-03, which was issued on December 14, 2017. Notice 2018-42 includes updated guidance for move related vehicle expenses, unreimbursed employee expenses and vehicle expenses, as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

June Folk Feature - GOAL!!!!

The FIFA World Cup is taking over news outlets, social media and our sport news app notifications. One of the captive World Cup watchers is our own Cullen Woomer, Staff Auditor for FBLG, and one of a handful of genuine soccer fans in the USA. His perspective on soccer is both refreshing and may just persuade you to decide to spend 90 minutes of your life watching folks run up and down a field hoping that a successful match ends in a tie.